Thoughts about my life as a birth doula, rabbi's wife and mother of a special needs child

Monday, May 23, 2011

Parenting- a full time job

In the past 10 days, Y has been sent home from school three times. Once because he was coughing, one time he had fever and this morning because he threw up. Mommy and the school are not happy campers. Amazingly, every time he has come home, he announces that he is "better" and goes right back to acting totally normal and healthy. There has also been a lot of crying at school and asking for Mommy and to go home, which leads me to believe he is a pretty smart cookie and know what to do in order to get picked up.

So I am trying to get to the bottom of this, figuring out if he has allergies or if something is going on at school that is upsetting him. Or both.

Meanwhile, we have some stuff going on with A as well. Nothing major, but enough to keep me busy figuring out plans for next year, the summer, the rest of this year and some reshuffling that needs to get done.

And of course theres M. who hopefully asks every day if maybe today we can "go to park please"- but the weather is not really cooperating. So he is bored, And wants to play and color and drink an endless supply of chocolate milk.

All of which just makes me think that mothering or parenting or whatever you want to call it is a full-time job. Sometimes when you're in "maintenance-mode" you may think that it's not so time consuming but then something out of the ordinary happens and all of a sudden you're juggling more balls. I am seeing more and more how much time, conscious effort, mindfulness, love and attention children really need as they grow. It is a constant effort to remain present and really be there for all the big and little stuff, to be aware of things that need tweaking and things that are amiss.

I know they are plenty of women who do have full time jobs and they have my utmost respect. For me, right now though, trying to do a good-enough job with the care of my kids and trying to build up my doula practice on the side, is about as much as will fit into my life.

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About Me

I am a busy mom of four, trying to fit all different aspects of my life together. These include mothering, my religion/beliefs, marriage, writing, learning to parent a special needs child, being a rabbi's wife, knitting, etc.
I am also an aspiring doula looking to share my experiences and maybe even inspire you to think about birth differently.